Kimber smiled again. It lit up her face. Her blue eyes lit up in the way that he had dreamed they would when she saw him. He hoped her eyes lit up like that for him someday. “They’re happy. They love the new house. They miss their Dad of course, but they do seem to get along really well with Sierra. I guess you have to know that your divorce was the right thing to do when everything seems to be going so well.” She laughed.
Paul nodded. “I know what you mean. I really like my new house, my new job. This is a nice place to live, lots to do. I miss Sierra of course, but it felt for so long like everything was a lie, or that we were just pretending that we could make things work when we both knew that we never really would.”
“I know how that feels tenfold. I wish Luke had been honest with me from the beginning.” She bit her lip, and Paul wondered if dirty thoughts about him had entered Kimber’s mind. A blush rose to her cheeks and she looked away from him. “Well, I guess I should let you go. It really was good to see you Paul.”
But he couldn’t see the look in her eyes, so he couldn’t be sure if she meant it or not. He knew what he was feeling. His body was making him aware of his attraction to her. She had turned back to him and still looked a little flustered, so he knew that she was feeling something too. He wanted so badly to touch her. He could imagine how good it would feel to touch every part of her. Color entered his cheeks again.
“It was good to see you too Kimber.” He knew that it was now or never and wondered if his courage would hold. “I. . .”
“Yes Paul.” Her blue eyes seemed huge as she looked at him.
He swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat. He was afraid of what he was feeling. It was too soon and too muddled with his hormones being thrown so strongly into the mix. He suddenly couldn’t ask her what he wanted so badly to ask her. “Nothing.” He gave her a smile that felt more than a little weak. “Maybe we’ll run into each other again sometime.”
“Sure.”
He couldn’t be sure if there was a note of disappointment in her voice or not. He turned away, back towards the door, his heart sinking a little. His hand was on the door when she called out to him.
“Paul.”
He turned back to her and saw something in her eyes that made his heart soar. She liked him too, he could see it in the slight blush in her cheeks, in the way that her eyes were sparkling. His heart pounded as he said her name “Yes Kimber.”
The blush didn’t leave her cheeks and he had the thought that maybe she had relived their night together too.
“I know that you’re probably busy with work, and your son, but would you like to have coffee with me sometime? I sometimes feel like I don’t have any meaningful adult conversation.”
“All I ever talk about is work. I would like that. A lot.”
Kimber smiled. “I would too. Let me give you my number and you can call me and let me know a time that would work for you.”
Paul still couldn’t quite believe that Kimber had asked him out as he put her number into his phone. But he felt like he was walking on air after he left the sandwich shop. He agreed with her that sometimes his divorce had felt like such a relief to him that he knew it was right for his marriage to end. It felt right to be seeing Kimber too, and he knew that he was going to have to make time to see her as soon as possible. His attraction for her had grown even more after talking to her, and he was sure that Kimber being a part of his life would be a wonderful thing.
Kimber
Kimber wasn’t sure whether offering Paul her phone number was a good thing or not. Her first instinct had been to run away from him almost as soon as she had seen him. But she had felt drawn to him at the same time too. When he had told her she was beautiful, she had known that he meant it. She knew that Paul wasn’t a man that took things lightly, and she figured he rarely offered compliments to women that he didn’t mean. She wasn’t sure how Luke was going to feel when she told him that she had asked Paul out, but she wasn’t sure that he even had a right to care when he was planning on proposing to Sierra.
She found that she was looking forward to seeing Paul again more than she liked to admit to herself, and her hormones seemed to be forever reminding her of their night together. She wasn’t sure whether she was disappointed or relieved when days passed and he didn’t call her.
Paul
There was a part of Paul that wanted to call Kimber as soon as he left the sandwich shop, and set up a date with her before she changed her mind about him, but at the same time, he knew that he had other responsibilities that had to be taken care of first. His job was so demanding than he was unsure of whether he would have time for a relationship even if things happened to progress between him and Kimber the way he hoped they would more and more as the days passed.
But even though he couldn’t keep the fantasies of Kimber away, especially when he laid down to sleep at night in the bed that felt so empty, he was so damned busy that he began to wonder if taking the new position hadn’t been a mistake. He had worried that with the divorce he would have an even harder time being a real father to Nathan, but he worried more and more as the days passed that he wouldn’t have time for any kind of a real life with the new job.
He was depressed one night and desperately needed someone to talk to, so he dialed Kimber’s number with a hand that had a slight tremble to it, wondering if she had been looking forward to his call anywhere near as much as he had been looking forward to speaking with her again.
She answered on the fourth ring, sounding a little breathless “Hello.”
“Hi Kimber. I wanted to call you before, but I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t really had a chance. Have you ever felt like you made a decision that seemed like a good idea at the time, that honestly seemed like the best thing that could have happened to you but then you begin to wonder if you’ve gotten yourself in over your head?”
Kimber laughed. “When my Aunt died and I took over the book store, it felt like the exact right thing at the right time, but I was in over my head for a while there. Is your new job not what you thought it would be?”
Paul sighed. “The problem is that it’s exactly what I thought it would be, but right now it seems like too damned much. I don’t seem to have time for a life.”
“That is definitely a hard thing to deal with. It was harder and harder for me to run the bookstore after I had the kids, especially Halden. My daughter is so attached to her Dad. I think she would probably be just as attached if he hadn’t been her main caregiver, but at the same time it always made me feel bad. It’s really hard to feel like you don’t have enough time for all of the things that are important in your life.”
“It is. I always thought that I knew exactly what I wanted in my life. I wanted a good job where I could make enough money to take care of my family. A nice house. But now that I have the kind of job where I can make the money I want, it seems to be taking away from the things in my life that are really important. I feel sometimes that my son hardly knows me. I want to have more time with him. He’s always been closer to his mother, and I know that that’s partly because she was his main caregiver, but it’s always seemed to come so much more naturally for her than it has for me. I’m always afraid that I’m going to do something wrong.”
“Parents are always going to make mistakes. It’s part of being human. All you can do is do your best and your best may not always be good enough. It’s scary to be a parent, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I’m sure you’re a wonderful father Paul, and you will get everything worked out so that you have more balance in your life.”
Kimber was so understanding, so easy to talk to. The more he talked to her, the more he wanted her to be a part of his life. He vowed to himself that he was going to make room in his life for her, and that he was definitely going to make more room in his life for Nathan. He knew that every day he spent away from his son was another day that he missed seeing his beautiful boy grow and it made his heart ache to think abo
ut it.
“You’re so easy to talk to Kimber. I feel like I could talk to you for hours.”
“I feel the same way Paul.”
There was no hesitation in her voice, and his heart set to pounding again.
“I’m not quite sure how I’m going to work out my work issues, but I would really like to see you. I know that I’ll have some work to do this weekend, but would you like to meet for coffee on Saturday afternoon?”
He was hoping that he might be able to complete the work that he needed to complete on Friday night after work. He didn’t care if he had to stay up all night to complete it. He was looking forward to seeing her. Even the sound of her voice was getting to him. He wondered what she wearing and then chastised himself internally since he had been thinking of her both with and without her clothes on all too often lately.
“That sounds good. Luke is picking up the kids this weekend.”
“Would you like to meet there or should I pick you up?”
“We can meet there.”
“Okay.”
He was a little disappointed that he wouldn’t be picking her up, but he didn’t let it bother him as he told her the address of his favorite coffee shop. They planned to meet at eleven o’clock. Paul had hopes that they might have a good enough time together that he would be able to talk her into having lunch with him.
The rest of the week was even busier at work. His new job was starting to feel like more and more of a trap. Everyone else around the office seemed more dedicated than he felt, even though many of the people that he worked with had families of their own as well. He wondered when his priorities had changed and started to wonder if taking the job had been the right decision at all. But he didn’t let that thought get him down either. He worked his ass off all week and even managed to finish the project he had brought home with him by ten o’clock Friday night.
He didn’t sleep well that night, and had a very vivid dream of making love to Kimber. He woke up bathed in sweat, hoping his hormones didn’t get in the way so much when he was with her that he said or did something completely stupid.
Kimber
Kimber stood in front of her closet Saturday morning, wondering why it was taking her so long to figure out what to wear to nothing more than a meeting for coffee. But she had hopes that if things went well enough with Paul, he would ask her out to lunch. She was still wary of the attraction that they shared, but it had made her so happy when he called her that she knew she had to give their maybe relationship a chance.
She finally decided on a light blue skirt set with a matching cardigan. She felt a little overdressed for coffee as she stood in front of the mirror, since she normally wore jeans and t-shirts, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen Paul in jeans. She tried to ignore the fact that her cheeks were already flushed, and almost laughed when she pondered who blushed more when they were together, her or Paul.
She could see the back of his blonde head through the window of the coffee shop as soon as she got out of her car, and her heart started to beat even faster. Her palms grew sweaty. She wiped them on her skirt before she opened the door. He turned when the door opened. When he saw her his face lit up. A blush rose to his cheeks again, and she felt hers redden as well. She swallowed hard before she approached him, wondering if she was going to be able to control her hormones until they were able to get to know each other well enough to figure out if they really fit together as well as they seemed to.
He rose from the table and pulled out a chair for her. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
A waitress approached their table. Kimber gave the pretty young girl her order. They sat in silence until the girl had returned with their coffee.
“So, have you figured out what you’re going to do about your job?”
Paul sighed. “Not exactly. I always thought that I knew exactly what I wanted. I guess that maybe it just happens to change along the way sometimes.”
“It definitely can. I never wanted to get married. My parents have been married and divorced so many times that it’s not even funny. They always seemed miserable no matter who they were married to though. I wasn’t sure why they kept trying. Do you feel like you shouldn’t have taken the job? Do you feel like you could have saved your marriage if you hadn’t?”
He shook his head. “Even though I do sometimes feel like maybe I should have thought more about how it would affect the rest of my life before I accepted this position, I don’t think that my marriage could have been saved. Sierra and I always fought so much. We were just too different. I loved her so much that I thought we would always work it out in the beginning, but it started to be more and more apparent as time went on that we weren’t going to be able to compromise on the things that were important to us, even if they had changed somewhat along the way.”
“I know how it feels to fool yourself. I try not to think about how often I had to fool myself when I was with Luke.” She sighed. “I know he loved me, but he always loved Sierra more. I guess maybe they make a better couple than we ever did. It just feels shitty to have been caught up in the whole thing. Though I guess that if that whole mess wouldn’t have happened we wouldn’t have met.”
Paul almost looked stunned for a minute, and his cheeks turned bright red again. “Right. I am glad I met you Kimber.”
It was so easy to talk to Paul about anything and everything, especially since it seemed more and more that they did have a lot in common. They spent two hours in the coffee shop talking. Kimber was relieved when Paul asked her out to lunch afterwards. She didn’t want to leave his side, but she hadn’t wanted to make the first move again, unsure of how her doing so would make him feel.
Paul
Paul was afraid that his courage would fail him before they left the coffee shop, but he wanted so badly to spend more time with Kimber that he sucked it up and asked her out to lunch. They ate at the same sandwich shop where they had run into each other previously. The conversation was just as easy as it had been in the coffee shop, and Paul found himself disappointed when he had to leave Kimber early that evening. He wanted to kiss her when they parted in the parking lot, but he felt a need to take things slow. She gave him a bit of a funny look when he shook her hand and promised to call her, but he was hopeful that she liked spending time with him as much as he enjoyed spending time with her.
Monday, he tried to talk to his boss about cutting his hours at least somewhat, but it didn’t go over well. He was reminded of the importance of his position, and told that maybe they could talk about cutting his hours when things slowed down. He felt like he was being put off, and wondered again whether he should have so readily accepted the position. He was able to secure a date with Kimber over the weekend. He looked forward to their time together more and more as the days passed, wondering when his job would again bring him as much happiness as his personal life.
Kimber
Kimber was excited to see Paul again. They had been speaking on the phone almost every night and by the time they were together again, she couldn’t wait to see him. They had dinner at a nice restaurant and then went to see a romantic comedy that left her all too aware of his closeness. He kissed her goodnight, though it was quick. She wanted to pull him to her for a kiss that left him with no question as to how much she enjoyed being with him, but she had a feeling that it was important to him to take things slow.
She wanted him to meet her kids and was excited to meet his son, but she felt that they definitely needed to take things slow where the children were concerned. It was confusing enough as it was for her kids with Sierra and Nathan suddenly being in their lives. She wasn’t sure how easy it was going to be to explain to her children that she was dating Nathan’s father, especially Alexis, since she was eight and able to understand what was going on more easily than the boys who were three and four.
They had discussed the fact that they were dating with their exes. Paul had said that Sierra had laughed and told him that she expected
an invitation to their wedding, but Luke had seemed less than thrilled with the idea of her seeing Paul. Kimber didn’t let it get to her though, because she was happy with Paul, even though sometimes it felt as if their newfound relationship was progressing at a painfully slow rate.
Paul was so smart and sweet and so damned good looking that she found herself so aroused just by being around him that she couldn’t imagine their second bout of love making being any less amazing than the first time had been. She was thinking so much about getting him into bed that she thought she was going to go crazy until he was comfortable enough to make love to her again.
But she managed to keep her hormones in check. The fact that things with her bookstore weren’t going as well as she thought they should have been helped to keep her mind off of Paul at least somewhat. She was thrilled when he offered to help her with promotions and advertising. She wasn’t sure when he would be able to find the time with everything else that was going on in his life, but she was grateful for the offer all the same.
Paul
Paul had offered to help Kimber with the advertising for her bookstore because it seemed like a natural thing for him to do, having experience in advertising. He knew that the store was important to her, and he liked the fact that she was able to run her own business and care for her children at the same time and do both exceptionally well. He hadn’t yet met her children, but Sierra had mentioned to him that Kimber was a wonderful mother, and had given her okay to have Nathan meet the other woman. He thought that the fact that he had told Sierra that he thought he understood some of her job’s importance to her at least a little better now had helped. He knew that it was a big step for Sierra, and he knew that Nathan would love Kimber. He also realized that he was all too close to loving Kimber himself.
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 32